Treasurer Joe Hockey claims abolishing negative gearing could push up rents, because that's what happened in the 1980s.

The combination of negative gearing and the capital gains tax (CGT) discount is distorting the Australian residential property market, encouraging speculative behaviour and being used by predominately high income households as a tax shelter.Modelling shows that these tax perks are costing tax payers $7.7 billion per year.

Calls for action to restrict tax deductions for negatively geared property investments and the 50% discount on Capital Gains Tax, that are together costing the Budget $7 billion a year and fuelling housing price booms. SummaryA vital goal for tax reform is to improve the affordability of housing. Australia has among the most expensive housing...

This is the first of two final reports that aims to address the following research question: What is the impact on supply and affordability from implementation of the Henry Review recommendations in relation to negative gearing, land tax and stamp duty? This report considers the impacts of the savings income discount (SID) on housing supply...